This invention relates generally to electronic equipment racks, and particularly to cable management systems for such racks adapted to maintain groups of one or more cables separate from one another.
Racks for holding electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, come in various configurations. Some racks, referred to as “two-post” racks, include at least a pair of uprights, one at each side of the rack, extending up from a bottom frame structure. The uprights typically include holes spaced at regular intervals for mounting electronic equipment between the uprights. Such equipment typically includes various types of connectors on both the front and rear of the equipment, requiguide electrical and communication cables to be routed to and from the front and rear of the electronic equipment. When multiple pieces of electronic equipment are mounted on a single rack, managing the cables extending to and from the front and rear of the equipment requires cable management systems.
Systems known in the art include vertical channels located on opposite sides of the rack for routing cables from one piece of electronic equipment to another or toward the top or bottom of the rack from the front side of the rack. Such systems, do not, however, include adequate routing for cables extending from the rear of such electronic equipment. In particular, the channels typically include substantially solid sides and a substantially solid rear panel, such that all cables must be routed through the front of the channel, rather than the rear, even though such cables would be more easily routed through the rear of the channel to the rear of the electronic equipment.
Other systems known in the art have channels incorporating small access ports in the rear panels of the channels for routing cables to and from the channels through the rear. Such ports are generally small relative to the width and length of the rear panel of the channel. Moreover, the ports are spaced at intervals (e.g., one foot intervals) along the length of the channel. Although such ports allow limited passage of cables through the rear panel, they have several drawbacks. First, the ports are small, such that only a limited number of cables can pass through each port. This may make adding and removing cables more difficult, due to high cable density within such ports. Second, the ports are located at relatively widely-spaced intervals (e.g., one foot), so that cables extending from electronic equipment not positioned directly laterally from the ports must extend upward or downward a significant distance to reach the ports. This increases the overall length of cables, thereby potentially adversely impacting any overcrowding already present within the channel. Third, routing multiple cables through such a small port can create unwanted cross-talk between the cables, potentially disrupting data transfer through the cables. There is a need, therefore, for a cable management system that provides convenient cable routing to and from the front or the rear of the rack at virtually any vertical location, without the aforementioned drawbacks.
In general, prior art cable managers do not have the desired flexibility for routing cable, and there is a need for an improved system which provides such flexibility in a number of ways.